Brigid's Place Records, 1993-1999

Brigid's Place is the
women's center at Christ Church Cathedral and is dedicated to the spiritual and
personal development of women. The records consist of administrative files,
agendas, minutes, notes and fliers, records of activities, speakers, and
ministries, and publications.

Brigid's Place, the women's center at Christ Church Cathedral, a place
of prayer, meditation, research, and mutual support, is dedicated to the
spiritual and personal development of women. Brigid's Place was established in
1996 by Christ Church Cathedral's Women's Assembly when the Assembly recognized
that it needed to expand both its resources and its space. The Women's Assembly
itself was formed in 1993 as a network for progressive women of Christ Church
Cathedral.

Originally, the Assembly envisioned Brigid's Place as a separate
project, but the Assembly and Brigid's Place soon became closely identified
with one another. Brigid's Place assists women in finding mentors, in forming
support networks through Small Groups, and in searching for answers to
questions about female spirituality, gender roles, theology, and other issues
facing religious women in the modern world. Brigid's Place participants join
Small Groups, which focus on specific issues of particular importance to women
at different stages in life

Brigid's Place is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization with a board of
directors; the Rotating Circle, composed of members from smaller communities
who serve limited terms, is the advisory board of Brigid's Place. Brigid's
Place also publishes an annual newsletter and brochures for their programs.

Although the Women's Assembly founded Brigid's Place in 1996, the
papers in this collection span from 1993 to 1999. Some research items date to
the late 1980s and early 1990s. The papers arrived in five boxes, which split
naturally into the two categories of the Women's Assembly and Brigid's Place.
The papers were arranged topically and chronologically.

The largest portion of the papers concern the Women's Assembly and
Brigid's Place, which are the first two series of the collection. Because the
activities of the Women's Assembly quickly became synonymous with Brigid's
Place, the papers of the Assembly are included with Brigid's Place beginning
with 1996, the year of its foundation. Therefore, the papers relating to the
Women's Assembly from 1993 through 1995 were placed in the Women's Assembly
series. All papers from 1996 on are in the Brigid's Place series; however,
researchers may note some overlap with 1996, and should check both series for
complete documentation. These two series contain administrative records;
agendas, minutes, notes and fliers for the Rotating Circle and Small Groups;
the records of activities, speakers, and ministries for both organizations; and
publications.

Papers filed throughout the collection, but which did not directly
relate to the functioning and activities of either Brigid's Place or the
Women's Assembly, are arranged into two more series: Christ Church, and Other
Related Information. The Christ Church series contains various newsletters,
minutes, and documents relating to the Christ Church Cathedral, and to other
organizations associated with the parish. Other Related Information contains
information regarding other religious and women's organization not directly
tied to Christ Church, as well as various research materials. The current
organization is primarily topical by series and sub-series, and is either
topical or chronological within the sub-series.

Brigid's Place

Brigid's Place contains the papers relating to the administration
and activities of the women's center at Christ Church Cathedral, beginning in
January 1996 and continuing through 1999. This series is divided into eight
sub-series: Administration, Rotating Circle, Small Groups, Ministries,
Activities, Speakers, Labyrinth, and Publications. The Administration
sub-series contains the documentation for the creation and organization of
Brigid's Place, as well as some financial records, correspondence, and
information regarding its board of directors. The folders are arranged
alphabetically by subject. The Rotating Circle and the Small Groups sub-series
include agendas, minutes, notes, and fliers for the Rotating Circle
administrative committee and for the various topical committees of Brigid's
Place. The Rotating Circle folders are arranged chronologically, while the
Small Groups folders are arranged alphabetically by group name. The Ministries
sub-series contains similar information, as well as descriptions and plans for
the different outreach programs associated with Brigid's Place. Those folders
are arranged chronologically. The Activities and the Speakers sub-series
include the plans, budgets, attendance records, fliers, and brochures for
various liturgical events, workshops, retreats, and educational lectures
sponsored by Brigid's Place. The sub-series are arranged chronologically.
Information regarding the research and execution of the Labyrinth, a major
project of Brigid's Place in conjunction with other Houston area religious
organizations during 1997, is contained in the Labyrinth sub-series. The
Publications sub-series contains
The Women's Journal
newsletter, and
Lenten Meditations, a
group of prayers for women during the season of Lent.

Women's Assembly

The sub-series for the Women's Assembly are nearly identical to
those of Brigid's Place: Administration, Rotating Circle, Small Groups,
Ministries, Activities, Speakers, and Publications. The materials are dated
1993-1996. Because Brigid's Place is an extension of the Women's Assembly, the
duplicated sub-series contain the same types of papers that are included in
Brigid's Place, and follow the same arrangement.

Christ Church

The Christ Church sub-series and folders contain papers relating
to Christ Church Cathedral and its other organizations for the years 1985
through 1999. The folders in this series are arranged alphabetically by topic:
Administration, Cathedral Organizations, Cathedral
Bulletin, Events, and Miscellaneous. The Administration folders are
arranged alphabetically, and contain church policies, brochures, parish reports
and plans of action. The Cathedral Organizations includes minutes, information,
and fliers concerning Christ Church organizations other than the Women's
Assembly or Brigid's Place. The folders are arranged alphabetically. The two
Cathedral Bulletin folders contain an incomplete
set of newsletters for the Cathedral from 1992-1999. The Events folder contains
fliers for various church functions. The Miscellaneous folders contains fliers,
clippings and other information related to Christ Church, but not directly
related to the other subseries and folders in the Christ Church series.

Other Related Information

The Other Related Information series contains papers not directly
related to Christ Church Cathedral, the Women's Assembly, or Brigid's Place,
dated 1986 through 1999. Three sub-series are found in the Other Related
Information series: Organizations, Conferences/Events, and Research. The
Organizations sub-series folders are arranged into two groups: Women's and
Religious. Women's Organizations include both secular and religious groups
focusing primarily on women. Religious Organizations include only religious
groups that have no particular gender association. The folders in the two
Organizations groups are arranged alphabetically. The Conferences/Events
sub-series includes programs and information for conferences or similar events
that were not sponsored by Christ Church, the Women's Assembly, or Brigid's
Place. These folders are arranged alphabetically. The Research sub-series
contains clippings, papers, notes, brochures and publications relating to the
various issues that concerned the women of Brigid's Place. These folders are
arranged alphabetically by topic. All of the material in the Other Related
Information series provides context for the different activities, networking,
and ideas that influenced the creation and functioning of Brigid's Place. The
oversized box contains three issues of New York Times
Magazine, January and April 1990, and June 1993; three issues of the
Texas Episcopalian, September 1996, and March and
May 1999. The box also contains one page from the April 1995
Texas Episcopalian, and ten sheets of butcher
paper with notes written on them.